Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Fusarium toxin zearalenone (ZEA) and/or deoxynivalenol (DON) on the serum IgA, IgG and IgM levels in mice. In our study, 360 healthy adult female mice were randomly assigned to nine groups for a 12-day study. Mice of all groups were given a 4-day continuous intraperitoneal injection with different concentrations of ZEA alone, DON alone and the mixture of ZEA and DON, individually. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 3, 5, 8 and 12 of the experiment. The experiment results showed that all the experimental groups could cause the dysregulation of the immunoglobulin, thus affecting the humoral immune of mice. The mixture groups, especially in the group with higher concentrations of ZEA and DON (Group D2Z2), showed more obvious effect on the dysregulation of the immunoglobulin.

Materials and methods

2.3. Quantification of IgA, IgM and IgG

Blood was collected into microcentrifuge tubes by orbital vein puncture. The animals were euthanised with overdoses of anaesthetic. Serum was obtained after blood centrifugation at 4000 rpm at 4°C for 20 min and stored at −20°C. Total IgA, IgM and IgG were determined in serum, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits purchased from Wuhan ColorfulGene Biological Technology Co., Ltd (Wuhan, China). All operations were in accordance with the instructions of the kits.